System to avoid the collision of a vehicle with animals

ABSTRACT

A system and a method avoids the collision of a vehicle with animals tending to cross the road before the moving vehicle. Such system comprises a visual system directly actuating a RF emitter, or more RF emitters, emitting directional sound waves with a frequency above 25,000 Hz. Sound waves are directed frontally though with a frequency decreasing from the center of the roadway towards the road edge, so as to lead the animal to move towards the road edge.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is benefit of a 371 of PCT/IB03/04332, filed on 29 Sep.2003.

The present invention refers to on-board devices for motor cars to avoidthe collision with animals suddenly crossing the road before thevehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Statistical data show that from 1984 to 1993 40,000 roads accidents tookplace only in Italy, in which 4,000 people were injured and 200 peopledied, due to animals crossing roads, especially abandoned dogs. Only inthe area comprising the province of Turin, Italy, in the second half of2001 there were 157 accidents due to wild animals crossing roads, inparticular wild boars, but also roes, foxes, stags and badgers.

In general in Europe the number of accidents involving animals andvehicles, considering only large mammals, has been calculated to be of507,000, with 100 deaths, 30,000 injured people and damages for about1,000,000 Euro. The corresponding figure for each Italian province is ofabout 100 accidents every year.

Similarly alarming statistics come from the United States, especially asfar as accidents involving stags are concerned. Every year there are726,000 accidents with said animals in the United States, withsubsequent damages for about 1,000,000 dollars. Always every year 29,000people are injured and 200 people die in the United States due to thiskind of accidents.

In the light of solving this problem several solutions have already beensuggested, all of which propose the use of ultrasounds so as to keep theanimal away from the area in which vehicles travel. Such a solutionincludes the so-called “wild life warning system” marketed byInternational Road Dynamics Inc., which achieves its objective byinstalling systems detecting the passage of vehicles and ultrasoundemitters in stationary positions, typically in the areas wherestatistically animal crossing is most frequent. The sensors detect thearrival of a vehicle and thus activate ultrasound emitters, and—ifnecessary—light bands and/or scent emitters which frighten the animalsand prevent the latter from crossing the road. The first system to beactivated leads to the activation of the following ones on both roadsides.

Ultrasound emission is an excellent system to make the animal get away,without simultaneously disturbing humans. Animals generally have a soundsensitive threshold that is far higher that humans. They can hear soundshaving a lower intensity with respect to human ear. For instance, whilethe audible range for humans is of 64 to 23,000 Hz, the correspondingrange for dogs is of 67–45,000 Hz, for cats of 45–64,000 Hz, for cows of23–35,000, for sheep of 100–30,000 Hz, for rabbits of 360–42,000 Hz.Scientific researches have shown that generating sounds within thecritical perceptible range a lot of animals feel so much disturbed andthreatened to get away from sound source. At the same time humans arenot disturbed by ultrasounds, which belong to a frequency range beyondhuman audible threshold. In humans the eardrum has a far lower specificresonance frequency than animals, and cannot therefore vibrate atultrasound frequency. Human ear can perceive sounds up to a frequency of20,000 Hz.

Considering the above, on-board devices to be installed on a vehiclehave also been used to keep away animals crossing the road before saidvehicle. For instance U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,537 discloses an electronicalarm system that generates ultrasounds to prevent animals from movingbefore the vehicle. Said device includes a simplified pilot circuitgenerating electric pulses in form of square waves having constantpeak-to-peak tensions. The pilot circuit generates said square waveswith sequentially increasing periodical wave frequencies followed bysequentially decreasing wave frequencies. A coupling transformerconverts square waves into sinusoidal wave electric tensions having highpeak-to-peak tensions, so that a piezoelectric transducer emitsultrasounds with periodically increasing frequencies followed byperiodically decreasing frequencies, thus simulating the effect of asiren, without overheating the transducer and causing its prematurebreaking. The ultrasonic effect thus obtained confounds the animal andprevents the latter from suddenly crossing the road before the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Though useful, such device however implies an active intervention by thedriver in order to actuate the alarm system.

Stationary systems emitting ultrasounds for keeping animals away arealso known for instance from Swiss Patent CH-A-52 357 and from U.S. Pat.No. 4,001,817.

The present invention aims at suggesting a new device and a new methodto avoid the collision of a vehicle with an animal, which does not implythe installation of stationary systems near the road, but which can besimply installed on board the vehicle and which is at the same time moreefficient than known devices in canceling or reducing the risk ofaccidents due to animal crossing, the whole without diverting thedriver's attention from car driving.

In the light of achieving said aim, the object of the invention is anon-board system to be installed on a vehicle, avoiding collisions ofsaid vehicle with animals tending to suddenly crossing the road beforethe vehicle, characterized in that said system comprises a visual systemdetecting the presence of one or more animals near the vehicle, anelectronic control system receiving an output signal from said visualsystem and subsequently activating a signal for actuating the alarmsystem, and eventually means emitting directional high-frequency soundwaves, i.e. with a frequency above 25,000 Hz, which is activated by saidactuating signal so as to lead away the animal or animals whose presencehas been detected.

The aforesaid visual system is preferably equipped both with means forday operation and with means for operation in low visibility conditions,for instance at night. The first kind of means can consist of a cameraequipped with a sensor based on CCD or CMOS technology. The second typeof visual means preferably consists of a CMOS camera with infraredsensor associated with a lighting system based on a matrix with emittingLEDs, with a wavelength for instance of 900 nm, and/or projectors withvisible filters. As an alternative, heat cameras or a system consistingof matrixes of resistive bolometers, or a matrix of thermoelectricsensors can be used.

According to a further preferred aspect of the invention, the aforesaidelectronic control means are also programmed so as to detect theanimal's presence on the basis of its figure as detected by the visualsystem. The electronic central unit can carry out a screening of thevarious shapes and figures it meets. After detecting an animal, it canbe provided that the emitting means emit a signal having a differentfrequency, suited to the specific type of animal to keep away.

In one of the possible variants the device should direct sound waves infrontal direction, though with a frequency degree decreasing from thecenter of the roadway towards the road edge, so as to lead the animal tomove away. The electronic control system can also be connected to adisplay on the car instrument panel, so as to emit an optical/soundsignal warning the driver of the dangerous situation occurring.

Further characteristics and advantages will be evident from thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings,provided as a mere non-limiting example, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of the system according to theinvention,

FIG. 2 shows a vehicle equipped with a system according to theinvention,

FIGS. 3, 4 show a vehicle equipped with the system according to theinvention, before and after the intervention of the alarm system,

FIGS. 5, 6 are diagrams referring to two different solution of lightingsystem to be used in association with the IR sensor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 reference number 1 globally refers to a device according tothe invention comprising an emitter 2 of high-frequency directionalwaves (RF), in particular having a frequency at least above 25,000 Hz,based on MEMS technology. The activation of the emitter 2 is determinedby a signal 3 emitted by an electronic control system 4 after receivingan output signal 5 from a visual system 6, which—as alreadymentioned—can consist of a camera equipped with a CCD or CMOS sensor forday operation, and of a CMOS camera equipped with an IR sensor foroperations in low visibility conditions, for instance at night. The IRsensor is associated with a lighting system based on a matrix ofemitting LEDs (see diagram of FIG. 5 showing the variation of intensityof light emitted by said matrix as a function of wavelength, a peakbeing provided at about 900 nm), or alternatively with a projectorequipped with visible light (see diagram at the bottom of FIG. 5). Theassembly consisting of the visual system 6, the electronic central unit4 and the emitter 2 is arranged within a housing 7 associated with aglass plate 8. The device thus carried out can be positioned on thevehicle windscreen at the same height as the inner rear-view mirror,i.e. in the position referred to with S in FIG. 2. As an alternative,the system can be positioned on the lights, in the position referred towith T.

In a possible variant the visual system, the RF emitter and theelectronic control system are independent, separate devices. The visualsystem is placed on the windscreen at the same height as the rear-viewmirror, in S position, whereas the emitter is arranged in T position soas to prevent any possible disturb to the user and above all to preventtrouble deriving from animals within the car.

During operation the visual system positioned in S position on thevehicle V (FIG. 3) acquires images when the vehicle is moving. Theelectronic control central unit is programmed so as to carry out animage screening. When one of these images is aligned with one of thosecontained in a database of images stored in the control unit system, analarm actuating signal is emitted. The system can provide a differentoperation in case visibility is excellent, for instance during the day,or low, for instance at night, so as to achieve at every moment the bestdetection efficiency. Once the animal's body has been detected, the RFemitter is activated. It thus sends high-frequency low-intensity soundwaves directed towards said body, starting from the center of theroadway and decreasing towards the side portion of the roadway, so as tolead the animal to move in a preferential direction (FIG. 4).

Obviously, though the basic idea of the invention remains the same,construction details and embodiments can widely vary with respect towhat has been described and shown, however without leaving the frameworkof the present invention.

1. On-board system to be installed on a vehicle, avoiding collisions ofsaid vehicles with animals tending to suddenly cross the road before thevehicle, wherein said system comprises a visual system detecting thepresence of one or more animals near the vehicle, an electronic controlsystem receiving an output signal from said visual system andsubsequently activating an actuating signal, and eventually meansemitting directional high-frequency sound waves emitting with afrequency above 25,000 Hz, which is activated by said actuating signalso as to lead away the animal or animals whose presence has beendetected, and wherein the emitting means directs sound waves in afrontal direction, though with a frequency degree decreasing from thecenter of the roadway towards the road edge, so as to lead the animalaway.
 2. System according to claim 1, wherein said visual system isequipped both with means for day operation and with means for operationin low visibility conditions, for instance at night.
 3. System accordingto claim 2, wherein said means for day operation consist of a cameraequipped with a sensor based on CCD or CMOS technology.
 4. Systemaccording to claim 2, wherein said means for operation in low visibilityconditions consist of a CMOS camera equipped with an infrared sensorassociated with a system chosen among: a lighting device based on amatrix of emitting LEDs, a system consisting of projectors with visiblefilter, a system consisting of heat cameras, a system consisting ofmatrixes of resistive bolometers, a matrix of thermoelectric sensors. 5.System according to claim 4, wherein said lighting device is based on amatrix of emitting LEDs with a wavelength of about 900 nm.
 6. Systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the aforesaid electronic control means areprogrammed so as to: detect the animal's presence on the basis of itsfigure as detected by the visual system, carrying out a screening of thevarious shapes and figures it meets.
 7. System according to claim 1,wherein the electronic control system is connected to a display on thevehicle instrument panel, so as to emit an optical/sound signalinforming the driver about the dangerous situation occurring.